The role of boys and men in combating GBV and preventing HIV/AIDS.

• Author: Wainaina, Njoki

Introduction

When the Kenyan Government asked me whether it could nominate me as a panellist for this session, I answered in the affirmative without hesitation. The reason was that in the last twenty years and more, I would have been the last person to be so considered, because I was stereotyped as the opposition, because I come from a certain geographic area and belong to a specific ethnic group. It has been a struggle to end bad governance in Kenya. This reminded me is that no matter how long and daunting the struggle, as long as we do not give up, victory will come.

When I received the invitation to participate in this panel, I also received a number of documents, including the Secretary General's Report, which many of you have already received and read. Although I had accepted the invitation, I doubted there was anything I could add to the issues discussed in this and other reports provided. After some reflection, I decided the best way to tackle this presentation was to imagine I am speaking to you (as I often do), about our work with men, and to share with you a few answers to the questions often asked about why we chose to work with men and their role in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS and GBV in Africa.

The current work with men and boys for gender equality has evolved out of our continued search for answers and more effective strategies to achieve the goals of equality, development and peace, which we have pursued for the last three decades. For those who have been involved in this process since Mexico in 1975 (as I have been privileged to be), we have gone from one global conference to another, with renewed hope and vigour. But at each point, whether in Copenhagen (1980) or in Beijing (1995), we came together as women of the world to agree that some progress had been made, there were still obstacles. We also kept agreeing that, overall, the situation of the majority of women was getting worse. So, the question has always been, what are we not doing right, what else could we do and/or what could we do differently?

When the shift from the Women in Development (WID) approach to the Gender and Development (GAD) approach was proposed after Nairobi (1985), many of us embraced GAD with enthusiasm because it seemed to offer yet hope for the achievement of our valued and elusive goals. The initial stage of understanding and embracing the approach was controversial within the women's movement in Africa, where my experience is based. Many...